Top of the mornin' to ya & a Happy St.Patrick's Day, whether you are Irish, or wish you were. C](;~>)= Here's some pride-full ways to honor our Irish culture, besides perpetuating the cop/beer/ "jokes" reminiscent of the derogatory political cartoons of the 1860s. If you're snowed in, you'll really enjoy this! 1) Visit the Lower East Side Tenement Museum's site before the premiere of its Irish apartment of the Moore family at 97 Orchard Street (Manhattan) > htttp://www.tenement.org/Moore/ I have a tender spot for this place; my first Irish immigrant O'Connell lived down the block at 25 Orchard Street, when he was a tailor. 2) Try some newer Irish music online like "Celtic Woman" or the Sawdoctors. 3) Make an authentic Irish feast of lamb stew replete with carrots, parsley, potatoes, onions, parsnips & turnips. For that touch of green, don't forget the mint jelly! When you bless the meal, say a special prayer for our ancestors of the Irish Diaspora...the thousands who needlessly starved, and the thousands who survived and fled here, or were herded on ships to leave their home soil and come here. 4) Praise the Irish tongue ~ its gift of gab, moving orators, and finely tuned literature. Here's a poem by Arthur O'Shaughnessy called "Ode," that fits well with ancestry. WE are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams; World-losers and world-forsakers, 5 On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers Of the world for ever, it seems. With wonderful deathless ditties We build up the world's great cities, 10 And out of a fabulous story We fashion an empire's glory: One man with a dream, at pleasure, Shall go forth and conquer a crown; And three with a new song's measure 15 Can trample an empire down. We, in the ages lying In the buried past of the earth, Built Nineveh with our sighing, And Babel itself with our mirth; 20 And o'er threw them with prophesying To the old of the new world's worth; For each age is a dream that is dying, Or one that is coming to birth. 5) Tune into your WNBC affiliate for the 245th annual St.Patty's Day Parade down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. If you'll be watching for a loved one, this URL will give you the Line of March in PDF format > http://nyc-st-patrick-day-parade.org/Documents/final%20draft%20mar%2014%202007.pdf These excerpts from the official "Guidelines" could prompt NYC's George Carlin with food for some really funny Irish jokes. #4- The only banners allowed are ones identifying the unit or “England Get Out of Ireland." #5- Green hats, sneakers, or other “odd ball” dress is not permitted. #6- No animals or mascots "Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." MzS and my unforgettable and oft-irretrievable ancestors playin' me folly with their common names: BURKE, McDONALD, LYNCH, CANTWELL, McKENNA, McPHILLIPS, O'CONNELL, CLARKE, MURRAY, FITZ GERALD, CAMPBELL, DOYLE UP Monaghan! UP Kilkenny! UP Kildare! UP Limerick! > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ************************************** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.